{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,31]],"date-time":"2026-10-31T00:45:34Z","timestamp":1793407534937,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ.","EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>University students are increasingly exposed to academic and emotional demands associated with burnout and psychological distress in contemporary higher education contexts. Objective: This study examined academic-context well-being indicators, multidimensional happiness and global life satisfaction among university students in Spain and Germany, as well as their associations with burnout and compassion-related variables. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study with exploratory between-sample comparisons was conducted using a convenience sample of university students from both countries. Measures assessing academic-context well-being indicators, global life satisfaction, multidimensional happiness, burnout-related dimensions and compassion-related variables were administered. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, gender comparisons and exploratory between-sample observed-score comparisons using Welch\u2019s independent-samples t-tests with Holm adjustment for multiple comparisons. Results: Descriptive findings indicated positive scores on several well-being indicators alongside burnout-related strain. Global life satisfaction was positively associated with dimensions of happiness and inversely associated with burnout-related indicators. No significant gender differences were observed. After Holm adjustment, statistically significant observed-score differences between the two samples remained for 10 of the 17 indicators examined. The largest differences were observed for compassion satisfaction, ProQOL burnout and expected job satisfaction. Conclusions: The exploratory comparisons indicated a domain-specific pattern of observed-score differences between the Spanish and German samples rather than a general well-being advantage for either group. The results highlight the relevance of promoting student well-being and addressing burnout-related strain while considering the contextual characteristics of different university settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe16090135","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:10:22Z","timestamp":1788855022000},"page":"135","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Happiness, Life Satisfaction and Emotional Exhaustion Among University Students in Spain and Germany: Exploratory Between-Sample Comparisons"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ana Mar\u00eda","family":"Morales-Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Journalism, Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of M\u00e1laga, 29010 Malaga, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6347-4500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco Manuel","family":"Morales-Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"99","article-title":"Desarrollo de una escala factorial para medir la felicidad","volume":"40","year":"2006","journal-title":"Revista Interamericana de Psicolog\u00eda"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.21500\/19002386.2462","article-title":"An\u00e1lisis exploratorio de la escala de felicidad de Lima en universitarios de Arequipa (Per\u00fa)","volume":"10","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychologia"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1037\/ocp0000056","article-title":"Job demands-resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward","volume":"22","author":"Bakker","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Occupational Health Psychology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1007\/s10648-024-09940-8","article-title":"Study demands\u2013resources theory: Understanding student well-being in higher education","volume":"36","author":"Bakker","year":"2024","journal-title":"Educational Psychology Review"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1186\/s41239-023-00436-z","article-title":"A meta systematic review of artificial intelligence in higher education: A call for increased ethics, collaboration, and rigour","volume":"21","author":"Bond","year":"2024","journal-title":"International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2377960821994394","DOI":"10.1177\/2377960821994394","article-title":"Professional quality of life factors and relationships in nursing and psychiatric nursing students: An exploratory study","volume":"7","author":"Chachula","year":"2021","journal-title":"SAGE Open Nursing"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chigerwe, M., Boudreaux, K. 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